


In My Dreams

by turtleduckanarchy



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Anastasia AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-04-25 19:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14385099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtleduckanarchy/pseuds/turtleduckanarchy
Summary: “We’ll see each other again in the city of lights!  We will see each other, my dear!”The train was already rushing far away, too fast for anyone to run and catch up.  Definitely too fast for a child to run alongside it.  Too fast, too far.  It was too cold.  Far too cold for a child in a thin coat to be outside, even worse when said child happened to be unconscious.(AKA The Anastasia AU no one asked for.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When I say Anastasia AU, it's more like the musical, meaning that there's no magical Rasputin that caused any revolutions. Just angry people, because I don't even want to try to incorporate someone taking the place of the movie's depiction Rasputin.
> 
> But yeah, here goes nothing. Hope y'all like it.

Krista woke to the clamor of the children.  This was no good.  She slept in.  Again.  Fortunately, she slept in late enough that it could be considered the norm.  So long as the younger children stayed away from her few possessions, then she would be able to survive the morning.  Simple process.

Except.

“Get up!  Get up!”

Before she knew it, she was rushing around the building, the matron of the orphanage right on her heels. 

“Late for your first day of work.  Late!  On the first day!  Most people put effort into their careers, and yet you don’t even try to go to work on time for the first day!  I bent over backwards to take care of you.  I made sure to feed you, clothe you, everything!  And now, when I go out of my way to get you a job, you don’t even get up in time to go!”

“I’m really sorry,” Krista said sweetly, knowing very well that it was just the thing to do.  Apologize because the matron had gone through so much already.  “I didn’t mean to sleep late.  I’ll hurry to work after breakfast.”

“You need to hurry to the factory now!  There’s no time for breakfast, go!”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Krista slipped into her too-big coat and too-small boots, accepting the hat that the matron handed her.  “I’ll be back by evening.”

“It’d be best if you didn’t, since you’re an adult.”

Krista walked out into the snow, ignoring that last comment.  Fish factory.  She had to work in fish factory to make up for the fact that she was an adult without a job.  Or a single memory of who she was before coming to orphanage.  If she was lucky, one day she’d remember more than having clothes thrown at her, incomprehensible talk happening around her.  If she was lucky.

Unfortunately, she’d been proven to be very unlucky.

Ten years in an orphanage, and the only thing she had gotten that wasn’t hand-me-down clothes was her name.  It didn’t sound right when she said it, but it was the only one she had.  Therefore, it would have to do.  There wasn’t much else she could do in such a situation.  She could always take another name, Krista dropping from the face of the planet for the rest of eternity.  But the idea of doing that felt just as wrong.

Ten years, and she watched countless other children get adopted.  Adults would look in her direction and turn their noses up at her, which the matron always blamed on her pessimism or haughty behavior.  As if a child could truly understand what that meant.  But Krista tried.  She tried to be a better example of what adults always seemed to want when adopting children.  She was kind, unbelievably so.  She was cleverer than any of the children that ever left the walls of the orphanage.  She tried her hardest to be the perfect child, but the people who walked in looking for a child always found her to be the less than desirable choice.

And as she got older, she slowly became ignored.  People didn’t like adopting teenagers.  They wanted to raise children who would only remember them.  They liked to adopt infants and toddlers.  Once a child hit twelve, it was nearly impossible to get adopted.

Then there was Krista.  Krista who, at eighteen, still had yet to leave the shelter of the orphanage.  For a while, she had thought that perhaps the matron would adopt her, but those hopes were dashed years ago.

Now, she was stuck in a job that the matron found for her.  That had been kind, but it wasn’t appreciated.  A job at the fish factory.  No doubt the only reason they agreed to hire a girl who hadn’t worked a day in her life was that no one wanted to work for them.  Understandably so.  No sane soul would want to spend every waking moment smelling like fish.  Krista wasn’t even sure what went on in fish factories, but she was certain that whatever happened, she would be sure to dislike it.  Working in a factory, it seemed like an act below her.

But a nobody didn’t get to choose what was below her, especially when that nobody just so happened to never leave the grounds of the orphanage unless she was being sent out on the occasional chore.

Factory.  Even the sound of the word was unpleasant.

She’d much rather sit at home and play piano.  Not that she knew how to play piano.  There wasn’t one in the orphanage, so she never got the chance to even try to learn.  Playing an instrument had always seemed like a pleasant thing to do.  The piano.  Maybe the violin.  Or the harp.  It all seemed like such an entertaining thing to do, but she hadn’t had the opportunity.  And learning so late in life was a burden to take on.

Things were going swimmingly.  Until the sound of gunshots scared her half to death.

She’d been walking back to the orphanage from a grueling day’s work at the factor, passing a car.  And then it happened.  The shots rang out, and instinctively, she dropped to the ground in attempt to hide herself from the bullets.  It didn’t occur to her that no one had shot anything until she was being helped to her feet by a tall man.

“Don’t worry,” he said, attempting to comfort her.  “It’s just the backfire of a car engine.  Nothing to be scared of.  War is over.  There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Krista just nodded and tried her hardest to calm down.  Logically, yes, there was no reason to be afraid of engine backfire.  Except it didn’t sound like an engine.  It sounded like gunfire, and…why was she familiar with the sound of gunfire?

She took a deep breath and steeled herself for the rest of the walk back to the orphanage.  If she was lucky, the matron might have some dinner left over, and hopefully, it would not be fish.  She wasn’t sure if she could handle ever eating fish again.  Spending hours upon hours of gutting fish for it to packaged was ruining her like for it.  Besides, the way the matron cooked it was bland, lacking flavor.

Of course, that wasn’t her fault.  Getting ahold of spices was difficult enough for most people.  For people who were charged with taking care of the dead’s children, it was no easier.  There wasn’t really anything she could complain about with that knowledge in the back of her mind.  And if there was fish at the orphanage, Krista knew that she would grin and bear it, despite the fact that she didn’t want to see another fish for the rest of her life.

Another night to get through confusing dreams, and another day to get through a disgusting job.  If this was life, then she could only smile and pretend it didn’t bother her.  After all, someone had to do it.  Might as well be her.  Besides, it’d save people who weren’t accustomed to faking happiness the trouble of learning how.

It’d all be so much easier if she was fish.  Born, swim, die, end up on someone’s dinner plate.  She wouldn’t have to worry about strange dreams that she swore meant something.  She wouldn’t have to work.  She wouldn’t have to put up with the children all around her, still getting adopted while she was stuck knowing that she never got that privilege.  There would be no panic caused by the backfiring of an engine.  She wouldn’t even have to worry about getting eaten when the time came for it.

It was hard to believe, but Krista was actually envious of the fish she just gutted all day long.  It was a shame she wasn’t a fish.  Being swept away by the current didn’t sound too bad for a girl whose life was stagnant.

Maybe, if she was lucky, she would wake up and be a fish in the morning.

If she was lucky.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ymir and Annie try to ensure safe travels, deciding that their best shot at getting out of Mitras is taking advantage of the newly reinvigorated rumor of the possibility that Princess Historia survived the ransack on the palace ten years ago.

Ymir wasn’t one for laying low, so when Annie insisted that she stay out of sight for a couple days, she decided to not listen to Annie.  Then again, nothing else could really be expected.  After all, she never listened to any instructions Annie gave her.  It was always “Don’t get caught by the police,” or “Stop flirting with the people we’re trying to con,” or “Could you please do something useful for once?”  But being told to stay out of sight was one that was particularly difficult.

Staying in the dark was not something Ymir enjoyed doing.  Of course, she would step out into the light of the town square, dodging the law enforcement as best she could.  It wasn’t her fault that the one time she got busted for something, it wasn’t even something she did.  Trust Reiner for a day, pay for it for life.  Lesson learned, never trust his judgement again.  Maybe she should have listened to Annie when she first told Ymir that Reiner wasn’t the best to entrust a couple secret tickets out of the country with.  But she didn’t, and now, he was out, and Ymir and Annie were still stuck in.

This was different though.  Because when she was on her way to the fruit stand, she heard the news.  It wasn’t new news by any means.  Everyone had heard the rumor of the princess that escaped the coup d’état.  If anyone were unfamiliar with it, they’d had to have lived under a rock.  The bodies of the royal family had been found where they’d been cut down in the palace.   All except for the young Princess Historia, who technically wasn’t even in line for the throne, due to her status as the king’s illegitimate child.  No one had found her body, implying that she had survived but not made it to her grandmother’s villa.  The old woman had gotten hold of the old rumor and decided to reward anyone who could bring her the princess, reignited the supposed veracity of the tale.

The story of the princess was far from new, but the news of her grandmother’s prize for her alive and well was definitely new.  And it was the type of big break Ymir had been waiting for.  She’d get out of the kingdom, and she’d have enough money to get her out of the troublesome vagabond class.  Yeah, she’d split it with Annie if she got it.

Trouble was that she’d need to find someone who could pass as the princess.  Annie could possibly pull it off, except for the fact that her nose would give her away.  It didn’t really matter what the princess looked like though.  As long as Ymir could find someone who looked like a princess, she could get away with it.  There was that whole thing with making sure that she wasn’t caught as a fake, but that would be easy.  Annie’s family had been in the royal family’s court years ago, and she’d known the princess by association.  That could help with getting their fake princess to know answers to whatever questions she might be asked.  Ymir had worked for the palace for a year, up until the royal family had died, so that would help with knowing the inner workings of how the castle had been run.

They could pull it off if they got the right girl.  No problem.

Her day was better with the new plot going through her mind.  How could they pull it off?  Holding auditions to find the perfect stand-in was too risky.  They’d be found out in no time flat, and they wouldn’t be able to get out of this hellhole of a capital if they were in jail.  What then?  Just keep an eye out and watch for the perfect girl on the streets?  No way that was going to work.  Like the perfect impostor would just walk right into her or Annie, staring at them with bright eyes to match how the princess’s had been?  Stupid.  Impossible.  No way that would work out.

Auditions would get them arrested.  Searching would be impossible.  There had to be a way to get away with this.

Ymir was maybe getting some semblance of an idea formed in her mind when she was pulled out of the street into an alleyway.  She looked down at the small woman gripping her arm and smiled.

“Hey Annie.”

“I told you to stay low today.”

“Didn’t want to.”

“You’re going to get caught if you just wander around without thinking.  You remember what happened when Marcel got caught?”

“Who’s Marcel again?” Ymir asked without caring to pay attention to Annie’s original question.  Thanks to her sudden appearance, Ymir had forgotten what she was thinking might work for the princess scheme.

“Doesn’t matter who he is.  Only thing that matters is he’s dead now.”  There was an unsaid _because of you_ that Ymir didn’t catch onto.

“Right.  Don’t get caught, or else we’ll die.  I already knew that, dumbass.”

“Then don’t put us in danger.”

“Whatever.”

“Get back to the hideout.”

“Once you listen to my plan.”

“Another stupid plan?”

“This one’s not stupid.”

“I’ll listen later.”

“Annie, this plan—”

“I’ll try to get extra food while I’m at it.”

And it was that simple for Ymir to finally agree to lay low for the rest of the day.  Two promises made to keep her in line.  She would stay in line, so long as no one attempted to start anything.  Who could blame her though?  Usually they got enough for a single meal suitable for one person a day.  Extra food was something unheard.

But whenever Annie went out of her way to get it, she got ahold of it.  Of course Ymir would listen with that on the line.  There was the chance that it’d just be rotting fish, but it would be something more than their usual meager amount of gruel.

There was no way this day could go any better.  Her luck was just running full.  Nothing could ruin this day for her.  Nothing.  Well, it’d sure be ruined if Annie got caught stealing whatever food she was going to get ahold of.  And it’d be ruined if Ymir was recognized for the stunt Reiner pulled before taking the train out of Mitras with Bertolt.  Using the tickets Ymir had stolen from a small military outpost.

Then there was the engine backfire. 

Normal enough.  After all, it was a car, and it had an engine.  That kind of stuff happened all the time.  It was nothing abnormal.  In fact, it was all very normal.  Very typical.

The thing that was far from normal was the girl across the street who dropped to the ground with a panicked scream.  Ymir would have run across the street if she wasn’t busy trying to get out of the kingdom.  Fortunately, a soldier was there within seconds, helping the girl up and trying his hardest to convince her she had nothing to fear.

Ymir couldn’t blame the girl though.  It did sound a little too much like gunshots.  Obviously, the girl was still dealing with some trauma from when the war had broken out all those years ago.  Someone clearly didn’t know that it was easier to deal with if you forced yourself to get over it.  Or maybe that wasn’t what you were actually supposed to do.  It worked for Ymir, so that was all she really cared about.

It wasn’t until the girl started walking to the north, crossing paths with Ymir who just happened to be walking south, that Ymir realized she was perfect in every way.  Her hair was the right color, or the very least, close enough to what the princess’s had been.  Even less of a comparison, it was close to the same blonde as Annie’s hair.  And since Annie could pass as the princess if not for her nose, it was good enough.  The only thing that could ruin it would be the girl’s eyes.  If they were blue, then it was over.  But if they were, then it would mark the beginning of a very fortunate time for Ymir and Annie.  And the girl too, maybe.

It all depended on whether or not they could turn a girl scared of engine backfire into a princess.

And if Ymir could find the girl after this.

To hell with it, Annie’s promise of extra food or not, Ymir couldn’t just head back to their hideout without the girl.  Not when they were this close to unfolding the genius of Ymir’s plan.  This was too good to pass up.  What was the chance of the perfect girl walking twice?  Very rare.  How many short blonde girls that weren’t Annie lived in the city?  Probably quite a few, but would any of them be willing to take a chance for a life of luxury?  Probably, but would any of them be quite as perfect as this girl?  Probably not.

Besides, it’d work out fine if Annie actually did end up scrounging up extra food.  And if Annie didn’t follow through with that, they could split up whatever found they had so that all three of them could survive for the night.

This was just too good to pass up.

“Hey!” Ymir shouted, turning on her heel and running towards the girl.  Understandably, the girl started running away herself.  Maybe abruptly running after the girl hadn’t been a good idea.  Especially since the girl was running out of the city, and Ymir didn’t know what really existed outside of Mitras.

Lucky for her, the girl wasn’t really that fast, so she caught up easily.

“Hey!  I’m—”

“Stay away!”

Honestly, Ymir considered herself pretty good at fighting.  Maybe not as good as Annie was, but Annie could be considered an anomaly.  The fact of the matter was, Ymir could usually hold her own when fighting.  She’d gotten up from getting stabbed in the back as a child.  By the usual standard, Ymir was pretty tough.

So she was taken by surprise when the girl headbutted her in the stomach and successfully connected a fist to her nose.

 

She got back to the hideout after Annie, so she was kind of in trouble.  Not like it mattered though.  Her one perfect shot at tricking an old duchess into thinking an absolute stranger was not only royalty but also the heir to the throne.

That made Ymir panic when she realized that the girl would be considered the rightful heir to the destroyed monarchy.  Not only had she lost her perfect shot at the ultimate plot, but she’d also lost her perfect chance at getting unending favors from someone whose position of power came from a con job.

This day couldn’t get any worse, could it?  Luck just was not on her side.  Then again, it never had, so this was nothing new.  If she could survive the hell she went through as a kid, she could get over her minor failure and find another princess impersonator.  She’d just have to find another perfect girl and have Annie teach her everything about what it’s like to live as royalty.  She’d dealt with harder tasks than this. 

Get the girl, get the tickets, don’t die on her way out of the city.  Piece of cake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's the second chapter. It's been a couple weeks since I put up the first chapter, just because I got busy with school, but with classes letting out soon, I'll hopefully have a bit more time to work on this.
> 
> Anyways, I hope the story's enjoyable. Later.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like one might expect, Ymir and Krista run into each other again, and the scheme starts to take shape. Kind of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really just dialogue based, so here goes nothing.

Krista was on the lookout for the vagabond who’d accosted her, mainly because she really didn’t want to face whatever fate the crazed stranger had in store for her.  But just her luck, or perhaps because her luck was that bad, she managed to walk right into the stranger on her way to the fish factory a week later.  The stranger just glanced down and said “sorry” in a very insincere tone then looked away.

Then dramatically looked back towards Krista with wide eyes.

That was when Krista recognized the person as the lunatic who chased after her.

She made to run away, abandoning her position at the fish factory in favor of being jobless and homeless, but the stranger grabbed her arm tightly and tried very hard to sound like anything other than a threat. 

“I’m not gonna hurt you.  I just want to compliment you.”  A highly unlikely story, but Krista couldn’t get out the stranger’s grasp, no matter how hard she tried.  So she conceded reluctantly and stared at the stranger with a blank expression.

“That’s so kind of you,” she said as kindly as possible, hoping that her charm would disarm the stranger so much that she’d be able to pull herself free.

“Uh, yeah.  I’m kind.”

“What about?”

“What?”

“What were you going to compliment me about?  I’m not particularly special.”

“You look like a princess,” the stranger said quickly, leaning closer just a little.  Too close for comfort, really. 

“That’s very kind, but I’m sure you know just as well as I that royalty has nothing to do with one’s looks.”

“I can make you _the_ princess,” the stranger whispered, moving in even closer.  “No more work, no more struggling, no more starving.  All you have to do is do what I say.”

And now, Krista was definitely done with being kind.  There was no point in appealing to someone who thought they could make such baseless promises come true.  Just the idea of Krista being a princess was ridiculous.  All the princesses of the area were dead.  There was no royalty in Mitras.  They were all dead.  Keeping up a kind facade with this idiot would be a waste of time.

“I’d sooner die than trust a lunatic crazy enough to chase me down the street.”

“You said that like a Reiss.”

“As if you’ve ever met one.  They’re all dead.”

“My colleague’s family was part of the royal court before the military coup.  She’s somewhat related.”

“I suggest you let go of me before I call for the police.”  The stranger let go of her immediately.  Krista thought for a moment that she’d be free to leave, but when she tried walking to the factory, the stranger followed her.

“Please.  You look just like what she’d look like.”

“Like who?”

“The princess.”

“I don’t know who that is.”

“Historia.”  Krista stopped dead in her tracks.  The name had a nice sound to it, that much was clear.  It sounded regal, like it belonged to a princess.  “You’d have to be either stupid or out of touch to not know the story of Princess Historia.”

“Then I must be really out of touch, because I’ve never even heard of her.”  Krista’s tone was back to sweet as could be.

“The story goes that the princess was the only surviving member of the royal family, swept away by the crowds or something.  The whole family’s corpses were discovered but hers.  And now, her grandmother’s offering a prize to anyone who can find her, ten years later.  You look like what she would look like.  We just need to teach what a princess does.”

“And how would you know?”

“Not me.”  The stranger sounded exasperated, almost a little irritated.  The fact that she threw her head back didn’t help any.

“Then who would know?”

“The…the colleague I just mentioned.  The one whose family had been in the court.  She’d know what to teach you, because she knew the princess.  Are you stupid or something?  I just mentioned her.  First, you don’t know who Historia is.  Now, you don’t remember Annie.”

“Sorry, I’ve lived in an orphanage for the past ten years with no memories from before I was dropped off there.”  All traces of the sweet tone she’d used earlier were once again gone. 

“Hang on.”

“What?”

“You look like the princess.  The hair, the eyes.  Perfect match, really.  And now, you’re telling me that you’ve been living with amnesia for the past ten years in an orphanage?”  A grin had found its way onto the stranger’s face, and it looked rather disconcerting.

“What of it?”  Krista was already aware of the points the stranger was trying to connect, but it would be a little fun to cause some irritation.  At least enough to make up for the irritation that Krista herself felt.

“The coup happened ten years ago.”

“Continue.”

“The princess went missing ten years ago.  No one could find her.”

“I don’t see your point.”

“I’m saying you showed up at an orphanage ten years ago with amnesia, and the princess went missing during the middle of a military coup ten years ago.”  Irritating the stranger had proven to be easier than she had expected.  That was fairly boring.

“So?”

“I mean, there’s really no way to tell, is there?  It’s a shame.  Annie might be able to tell, especially since she actually knew the princess.”  Wait, she was caught.  That was interesting.  Her first real interaction outside of the orphanage and work, and she was already caught.  The real question now was, what on earth was the stranger trying to get at?

“What are you—”

The nine o’clock bell rang, cutting Krista off and effectively reminding her that she actually had a job to go to and that her shift began at nine.  She was late.  Again.  She’d been late almost every day, but this was worse.  At least she’d been somewhat close to the factory the other times she’d been late.  But now, she was around three or four blocks away.

“I think you really are the princess.  Come on, Annie would know.”  Only an idiot would say that out loud.  Then again, maybe Krista was talking to an idiot.

“I’m not going anywhere with a stranger.”

“Fine.  Name’s Ymir.  I’m wanted for stealing tickets out of the city.  You want to get your family’s life of luxury and a trip out of this hellhole, then I’m your girl.  And you are?”

“Krista.”

“Really?”

“What?”

“Just Krista?”

“Even if I had a last name, I’m not required to give it to you.”  Even if Krista did have a last name, Ymir didn't give one, so really, she was under no obligation to give one herself.  After all, if she was the missing princess, she wouldn't even need to pick one.  She'd already have one.

“Right, orphanage.  Now, will you trust me enough to come find Annie?”

Logic told Krista that trusting this woman would be something she’d regret in the future, but a faint hope that perhaps she really was the lost princess pulled at her heartstrings.  The name Historia did sound quite nice.  Never working another day in life was tempting, especially when she was already sick of working after a week.  Being able to do as she wished was a dream she’d be able to hold if she could pass as the princess.

And the idea of being the princess.  It was too good to be true, but Ymir was right.  It lined up too well to be a coincidence.  Ten years of being stuck with no memories in an orphanage may have really been her salvation.

But if she wasn’t, then what?  She’d meet this Annie woman and be turned away, thrown back to the fish factory and orphanage.  Was getting her hopes up worth that?

Rationality said no.

But the grin on Ymir’s face said definitely yes.  How could she argue with someone so sure of this situation?

Every logical part of her mind said to run away.  Run far away and never look back.  This woman is just trying to make a quick buck, nothing else.  She wants out, and you’re her ticket if you can fake being a princess.  Stay away from the woman with the wolfish smile.

But Krista found herself agreeing to meet this mysterious Annie.  She found herself smiling and hoping against all hope that she was the princess, despite knowing that she likely wasn’t.

It was too good to be true.

And yet, she could not argue with the confident grin that she saw, because it said that this was worth it.  She’d never found anything worth her time and effort before, so if this was worth it, then maybe it was time to allow her efforts to be worth something.

It was too good to be true, but Krista really was hoping it was true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, chapter three. This was actually fun to write, so I hope everyone likes it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is incredibly late because summer meant I had to work, so like sorry about that. I meant to have this up earlier, but JC Penney planned otherwise when they started scheduling me for work.

“So this is usually where Annie finds her jobs, and if she’s not here, we’ll just hang out around the area and hope she shows up.”  Ymir wasn’t certain this plan would work out.  If she couldn’t find Annie, then there was no telling whether or not Krista would stick around.  Taking the girl to the hideout was risking, especially if Annie wasn’t on board with the idea of taking some random girl and turning her into a princess.

Honestly, Ymir didn’t even think the girl was actually the princess.  There was a coup.  A revolution.  She wouldn’t be surprised if a hundred girls in the city got hit in the head hard enough to wake up without any memories.  It just so happened that this one was short and had blonde hair and blue eyes.  So she looked like the princess and didn’t have any memories to trip her up with if she were to be interrogated on her past. 

Really, the chances of finding some missing princess after ten years were small.  Impossible.  Ymir just was good at finding the people she needed for her jobs.  That was how she met Annie.  It was how she met Reiner and Bertolt too.  There was nothing else to it.  She just had good luck.  Or maybe it was fate.  Who knew?

If it was fate though, it just had to be her fate to get out of Mitras.

Therefore, it stood to reason that this was her big break.  She and Annie and this Krista girl would get the out of Mitras, find their way to wherever the princess’s grandmother was supposed to be, and get rich quick.  No problem.  She could pull this off. 

If Annie cooperated, that is.

Ymir had plenty of plans that depended on Annie actually working with her instead of actively trying to sabotage her, and most of those had worked out.  But if Annie didn’t want anything to do with this, then she was screwed.  Fact of the matter was that Ymir didn’t know anything about upper-class life, so there was no way she’d be able to teach Krista about how things went in the palace.  Annie literally was the only thing that could make this plan work.  That sucked.  As if it wasn’t bad enough that this plan hung onto the chance that this girl could pass as the princess, it also needed Annie to work out fine.

“No.”

“Annie—”

“It’s a stupid plan.”

“But—”

“No.”

“If you just—”

“No.”

“Just look at her and at least pretend to give her a chance before turning her down.”

“Fine, but it’s stupid and would never work.”

But the second Annie walked into their hideout, she froze.  She was staring straight ahead, right at Krista.  It was a shame Ymir couldn’t see her face because Annie’s expression was probably to die for, but oh well.  What mattered was that it was clear that she was too shocked to function.

Krista, for whatever reason, had taken to cleaning up their little hovel of a home.  Or at least, she tried to clean it up the best she could in Ymir’s absence.  Didn’t this girl know that princesses didn’t have to clean?  Was she really that stupid?  Stupid enough to fall for Ymir’s flattery?  Stupid enough to clean the home of strangers?  Stupid enough to never hear of Princess Historia?  Whatever.  As long as she could listen to directions, it didn’t matter.

Annie sat down cross-legged on the floor and motioned for Krista to do the same.  When Ymir went to sit down, Annie glared at her.  In surrender, Ymir waited outside for the two of them to talk about whatever Annie decided would serve as her test to see if Krista could pass for the princess.  If Annie was going to actually give her a chance.

All three of them needed this.

Ymir and Annie were barely getting through life and could use some money to afford actual good food.  Krista kind of smelled like rotting fish and could use some soap to get rid of that, and considering how small she was, Krista probably needed food too.  So really, in the end, even if it all was a lie, they needed this lie to get them somewhere other than the lowest rung of society.

It was taking forever though.  Why she had to wait outside was beyond Ymir, especially since whatever Annie was talking about probably wasn’t that important.  Just some questions that anyone could fake an answer to.  Though, maybe not Krista, since she seemed a little out of it.  More than a little out of it.  Really out of it.  So maybe they weren’t easy questions for the idiot willing to trust a complete stranger.

Whatever it took to get this plan off the ground and into action.  Ymir was willing to go the extra mile to pull this off.  She was hoping that this would work, because if it didn’t, they could all get in a lot of trouble.  Execution worthy trouble, and Ymir didn’t feel like getting executed any time soon.  Even if anyone just got word of the plan, they could get in trouble, without even leaving the city.

This could kill them all, or it could make them richest liars in the entire world.  One miscalculation would leave them dead in a ditch somewhere.  Or stuck in prison, wishing they were dead.

 

Ymir was outside until dusk, leaning against the wall next to the door, close to falling asleep, and wondering if Annie was purposely leaving her outside or actually forgot she was there.  Finally, Annie opened the door, looking her up and down.  Then she slammed the door shut and leaned against the door.

“You might be right about her,” Annie mumbled, kicking at the dirt around her feet.  “She looks like Alma, just smaller.”

“I don’t know who that is, but great.  We can start teaching her everything she needs to know tomorrow.”

“Alma was Historia’s mother.”

“Your aunt or something, right?”

“A little more distant than an aunt.”

“Right.”

“We’re going to need names, you know.”

“Got one.”

“Oh really.”

“Yeah, just wait for it.”

“It better not be just your name.”

“Don’t worry about it.  You just work on teaching the idiot in there what she needs to know.”

“You don’t even know what she needs to know.”

Ymir just shrugged and pulled Annie away from the door, glad to have the chance to get out of the cold and into what could be considered somewhat warm.  When she got inside, she shot Krista a smile and congratulated her for passing whatever test Annie had for her.  Krista actually smiled a little, then looked down at the ground.

She wanted to leave and come back in the morning.  It took both Ymir and Annie to convince that it wasn’t a good idea.  After all, what if the factory sent someone to the orphanage, asking where she was?  What would she tell them?  That she planned on scamming the dead princess’s grandmother by pretending to be the dead princess?  How would she explain it without getting in trouble and then getting them all arrested for treason?  How could she explain meeting Ymir and Annie without giving away what they were plotting?  In what way could she explain to people who could never understand the circumstance without being called crazy?

They managed to get her to stay though, and Annie, through some miracle, managed to scrounge up extra food, even if it reeked worse than the smell of fish that lingered on Krista.  It might have been a chunk of stale bread that had been soaked through by the snow and near rotten potatoes, but it was better than nothing.

They were so close to making it out of here, and it just had to be fate.  It had be the destiny Ymir had set out for herself.  Years and years of struggling and fighting and holding on to life all for the chance to leave this god-forsaken city, and it was finally paying off in the biggest way it could.  Her stealing and lying was finally getting her exactly where she wanted to be.  Where she needed to be.

No more starving.  No more hiding.  No more working like a dog just to survive another day.  The perfect life was right in front of her, and all she had to do was get a stupid blonde girl out of town with her and Annie. 

All she needed was tickets, and stealing tickets just happened to be her specialty.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the run, in the garbage, on the train, they're finally getting somewhere.

Krista wasn’t sure exactly how she, Annie, and Ymir ended up hiding in the heaps of trash near the ruined palace after setting a building on fire, but they definitely ended up there.  It started with waking up to Ymir and Annie clamoring about the tiny little shack they called a home, both of them apologizing for interrupting her beauty sleep.  (“Not that you need it,” Ymir added, as though that would make everything about waking up to two strangers being loud at whatever unbearable time it happened to be.)  Ymir mumbled something about getting tickets before police got too heavy around the train station, and Annie grumbled in response something about faking papers for the three of them and trying to get Krista up to speed on everything she needed to know.

And then hours later, Ymir returned, bursting through the door with a panicked look on her face.  Before Krista could comprehend what was happening, Annie was forcing her to put her hat, coat, and boots on as quickly as possible.

Ymir set the hovel on fire.

Annie led Krista through the city, weaving throughout vendors, not explaining anything about what was going on.  All Krista could gather from their situation was that something went awry, and it meant that they were definitely in trouble because of it.  Thinking on it, she decided that it probably was stupid of her to blindly trust two strangers who could damn her to execution with treason as the charge.

Eventually Ymir caught up with them, pulling them into the garbage, instructing Krista to not move a muscle or say a word.  The hours passed unbearably slowly, and there were several instances when Krista actually fell asleep, only to have Ymir jam her elbow into her rib cage, ordering her to stay awake and alert.

Night fell.  Krista wished that they had brought the little food that had been in the building before Ymir set it aflame, but Annie had made her run out immediately after she was prepared for going outside.  All she could do was wonder what was going to happen to them and why this was happening now of all times.

Krista was all too aware of her hunger, something that she was able to ignore at the orphanage but could not pretend didn’t exist now that she was sitting with garbage all around her.  There was the chance that there was food somewhere in the trash, but she refused to actively search for food in garbage.

            She knew in the back of the mind that the food Annie got for them was probably from the trash, but she hadn’t allowed herself to think about it when she ate the bread and potatoes.  But when she looked over and saw Annie sorting through the trash muttering about how there had to be something they could find some sort of sustenance on, Krista found herself feeling rather sick.  She was hungry, but she couldn’t bear the idea of actually eating something that she knew came out of the trash.

She woke the next morning to Annie shaking her awake.

“We’ve got to hurry to the train station.  Ymir got tickets for the earliest train to Stohess she could.  If we’re lucky, we won’t get caught.” 

Ymir looked downright exhausted, and Krista noticed that her hair was shorter than it was the day before.  Without her even asking, Ymir just quietly said that she hoped it would through the police off her trail somehow.  Krista was handed a crumpled ticket for a one-way trip to Stohess.  Annie got one, and Ymir jammed the third into her coat pocket, looking up at the sky as she did, almost like she was praying that nothing else went wrong. 

Krista wasn’t even sure what caused them to get in this predicament, but she didn’t question it when Annie took her hand and slowly guided her through the backstreets and alleys of the city.  Ymir trudged behind them, as if she was guarding them from the back.  Once they got to the train station, they had mere minutes to catch the train, something that Krista was certain was not a good thing.  Minutes.  It’d soon fall to seconds, and then they’d be late, missing the train and they’re only way out of the garbage and snow.

Then the police spotted Ymir.

Their slow pace quickened into a sprint, Ymir and Annie indubitably much faster than Krista.  It didn’t help that there was ice on the ground near the tracks, and the train was starting to move, slowly but surely starting to speed up. 

And Krista slipped, slamming her head against the ice.  She couldn’t find the strength to get up.  Or maybe it was the will she was lacking in.  Perhaps both.  Either way, she realized that she was going to die because she still couldn’t run without falling.

Still?

Sure.

“Keep going!” she heard Ymir shout, most likely telling Annie to go on without Krista.  This was going to be the end of her life.  But then she felt arms wrap around her, and she saw Ymir for a split second before being thrown over the taller girl’s shoulder.  “Idiot, you’re gonna get us both killed.  Learn to fucking run.”

Ymir was able to get Krista on the train with Annie before starting to fall behind.  Without thinking, Krista stuck out her hand for Ymir to grab, knowing that it wasn’t much, but hoping that she and Annie combined could be enough to pull her onto the train.  Ymir reached out grabbed her hand, almost pulling Krista off the train again, but luckily, Annie seemed to figure out what Krista was trying to do and helped pull Ymir on with them.

“Are you okay?” Krista asked, genuinely worried about how Ymir was gasping for air.

“Totally great, thanks princess.”

“Great, now let’s get to some seats,” Annie interrupted flatly.  “Preferably seats away from the nearest conductor.  I need to finish these papers.”

 

The papers ended up being what could get them out of the city, a bit like passports.  Each was done nicely in cramped handwriting that Krista could only guess was Annie’s.

“You have a last name?” Annie asked Krista after writing approximations of her weight and height.

“No.”

“Idiot princess,” Ymir said with a smirk.

“Shut up before I throw you off this train,” Annie growled in response.  Krista was actually a little afraid that Annie would throw Ymir out the window, even after all the effort that went into getting her onto the train.

“Just give her my last name,” Ymir snapped.

“You put your last name on here.  Do you think the two of you look anything like you’re related?”

“It’s a common name!”

“I don’t care.”

“Then think of something then, because I’m sure the conductor’s gonna get here soon.  If she doesn’t have a last name, we’re screwed.  They’ll hold us on the train and send us back to Mitras.”

“I would have had more time yesterday if you hadn’t gotten caught stealing the damn tickets.”

“It wasn’t my fault they started the shifts right when I was leaving!”

“You should have paid attention.”

“If you had just—”

“Don’t blame me for your incompetence.”

“You little—”

“Lenz,” Krista said, interrupting the argument.  “It’s the name of the orphanage matron.  It’ll work.”

“Good enough,” Annie grumbled, scribbling the name down hurriedly.

“Welcome to the life a criminal, princess,” Ymir laughed, a crooked smile splitting her face.  “Miss Krista Lenz, I do hope you still have your ticket with you, because we are on a one-way trip to freedom.”

“If we don’t get arrested before we get there.”

“Shut up, Annie.”

Krista was really beginning to question what she got herself into when she agreed to walk away with Ymir instead of going to the fish factory.  She smelled like garbage, which somehow was worse than the stench of the factory.  She had to run from the police, which was never something she had to do when she was just cutting up fish.  She slipped on the ice and almost got arrested.  She almost got pulled out of a moving train.  Nothing about this was particularly reassuring, but for whatever reason, Ymir seemed happier with every single second that passed them by.

Her joy was almost infectious.  Krista found herself smiling, amazed that she had escaped a life of working at a fish factory until death.  Annie was smiling too, just a little bit.  It was enough for Ymir to point and laugh.  They were really free.  This was what freedom was all about, wasn’t it?  Liberated from having to scrape through the trash and spending countless hours at a fish factory.  This was the feeling of freedom, and they had gotten ahold of it with only a few minor issues.

The conductor finally got down to their compartment, looked them over a couple times, then accepted their tickets with a shrug.  Either he didn’t care that they smelled like garbage, or he was just used to it.  Krista had never heard of anyone sneaking out the city before, but maybe other people were just better at not being noticed than Annie and Ymir were.

Unfortunately, the length of the journey eventually wore the three down.  Sitting in the same seats for so long began to drive Krista out of her mind.  She was bored.  Ymir seemed to be faring worse, literally pacing around the tiny compartment, apparently prepared to walk a hole into the floor.  Annie just stared at the ceiling.

They were free, but none of them knew what to do with that freedom.  More importantly, none of them had even figured out a plan on what they would do once they got into Stohess.  Krista was supposed to become a princess, but she had no clue how.  If the other two had a plan, they hadn’t let Krista in on it. 

She really should have thought twice before agreeing to run away with two strangers.  At least she had something to do with her time before this.  Now, she couldn’t even figure what she could do with her life.  They needed money to survive, and they still didn’t have that.  Surely, the princess’s grandmother wouldn’t believe that some random girl fresh off the train from Mitras was the real princess, especially if they girl didn’t have any money.  They didn’t have anything that could make this new life easier.

They weren’t really free, were they?  They were out of Mitras, but life is Stohess was bound to be just as bad.  The only difference would be the trash they’d be eating out of and the roads they ran through.

They were doomed to be nothing more than a group of the poor, just trying their hardest to stay alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this chapter mostly done for a while, but with work and college, I just kind of didn't have the time to work on this, but it's finally here.


End file.
